


Stare Down

by PatL



Series: A Walk on the Dark Side [6]
Category: Starsky and Hutch - Fandom
Genre: An alternate ending to "Sweet Revenge"
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-02-02
Updated: 2004-02-02
Packaged: 2017-10-09 01:08:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/81366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PatL/pseuds/PatL
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes it feels good to be bad.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stare Down

"Sir?"  
"Yes?"  
"He's arrived, sir."  
"Good. Show him in."  
James Marshall Gunther moved his head slightly. "Uh, that'll be all, Thomas."  
He sat there for a moment, the paper evidence of his crumbling empire on the floor around him. Finally, he stood up and moved around to sit behind his desk. *It's all gone. Everything I worked for, gone in an instant.* He opened the right-hand top drawer, took out the gun he thought he'd never use, and held it in his lap. Then he waited.  
Armageddon came without as much as a knock on the door. Gunther knew the face of destruction well. He'd seen it in his nightmares for a long time. Still, a perverse need for propriety forced him to acknowledge the presence.  
"Come in, Sergeant Kenneth Hutchinson."  
The blond detective stood with his arms to his sides. Funny, he looked so much larger in person. "James Gunther."  
"Yes, that's correct."  
"THE James Gunther."  
"James Marshall Gunther to be correct. You've met my butler, Thomas. Meet my assistant Mr. Bates. He so looked forward to meeting you."  
Still, his nemesis approached. "You've come to arrest me."  
He didn't even look down when Hutchinson threw the piece of paper on his desk. "Ah yes, the warrant."  
The older man flinched slightly when Hutchinson took the handcuffs from his back pocket and dropped them on the table. He raised the gun and aimed it at his enemy.  
"Please."  
He barely heard what the detective said. It was something about killing, and something about his partner. The detective's voice was filled with venom as the blue eyes staring back at him regarded him with contempt.   
Like a snake striking at its prey, Hutchinson pounced, and the gun discharged as they fought for control. Hutchinson was younger, but the strength of his desperation evened the battle. He hadn't counted on the power of righteous fury in the other man, though.   
The atmosphere grew heavier around the silent tableau as there was a subtle shift in intent. Two strong hands encircled his, crushing his fingers around the grip of the weapon. Slowly, inexorably, the gun moved. Gunther saw the barrel turning toward his face, until he looked down the small black hole.  
When Ken Hutchinson looked into the eyes of evil, he didn't see the bodies of McClellan, or Thomas May, or even Lionel Rigger. He didn't see the years of graft and corruption inflicted by Gunther on an unsuspecting society. The only image he saw was Starsky, on his side, knees drawn up in a fetal position, his head shoved against the wheel of the Torino, lying in a pool of his own blood.  
James Marshall Gunther raised his eyes from the gun and stared into the icy blue eyes of doom. His plea for mercy never made it past his lips. He looked past the withered old man that was reflected in those unforgiving orbs and saw only the eternal fires of damnation. As he felt his index finger squeeze the trigger, he whispered a plaintive denial.  
"Nooooo!!"

 

Sergeant Kenneth Hutchinson leaned back as the cab made its way to the airport. *It's over, Starsky. It's finally over. I'm coming home.* His eyes closed briefly as his head relaxed against the seat. He barely heard the radio newscast.

"In today's top story, James Marshall Gunther was reportedly shot and killed this morning while resisting arrest. The owner and CEO of Gunther Industries, a multi-billion dollar corporation, has been the focus lately of a Federal investigation, according to a statement released this afternoon by Judge Sidney Holmes. Allegedly, Gunther Industries is guilty of bribery, blackmail, and murder, as well as the attempted murder of a police officer. The body of Geoffrey Bates, personal assistant to James Gunther himself, was found in Gunther's private office. He apparently had been poisoned. When asked if Gunther was a suspect in the homicide, Judge Holmes declined to comment. Stay tuned to this channel for further developments. "


End file.
